• Podcast

DLD 463: Looking to lose weight (restrictions)

• December 21, 2023
• Tagged as: 787, 787-9, A220, A321neo, A350, Air New Zealand, Airbus, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Austin, Brisbane, British Airways, business class, JSX, lie-flat beds, Lufthansa Group, Mexicana, Phoenix, podcast, Porter Air, Qantas, routes, Scottsdale, Seoul, slots, Southwest Airlines, Stansted, Starlink, Tel Aviv, Turkish Airlines, union, United Airlines, WestJet

Long flights come with challenging performance requirements. Delta looks to shed some weight restrictions and United may be adding some next year.

• Podcast

DLD 459: Thanks galore

• November 23, 2023
• Tagged as: Alaska Airlines, awards, BNA, Connect Airlines, DAS23, Delta Air Lines, Dubai Air Show, eVTOL, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Haneda, Houston, IAH, jetblue, LaGuardia, London, Nashville, Paris, Portugal, rewards, routes, slots, TATL, Transatlantic, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, WestJet

Thanksgiving week but we’re all avoiding the worst of the travel challenges, so that’s a win.

• Podcast

DLD 457: Awkward in Austin

• November 9, 2023
• Tagged as: A220, A321, Aer Lingus, Africa, Alaska Airlines, Allegient Air, American Airlines, AMS, Amsterdam, AraJet, Asiana, AUS, Austin, Delta Air Lines, Department of Transportation, DOT, earnings call, greenwashing, Halifax, Haneda, HND, Icelandair, KLM, MIA, Miami, PIT, Pittsburgh, podcast, routes, SAFs, Schiphol, Siam Reap, slots, Titan Air, YHZ

Is there at least maybe, hopefully a good reason for American Airlines slashing its mini-hub in Austin?

• Podcast

DLD 455: Well, that was unexpected

• October 26, 2023
• Tagged as: 767-400, A321neo, Aer Lingus, Air France, Air Greenland, Air India Express, Alaska Airlines, Avianca, Boeing, codeshare, Delta Air Lines, Delta Flight Products, Haneda, Hawaiian Airlines, HND, Horizon, live television, livery, MEA, Qatar Airways, routes, slots, United Airlines, ZipAir

A couple major unexpected events this week caught us off guard, but we’re doing our best to get through it all.

• Podcast

DLD 454: Is there such a thing as real loyalty program enhancements?!?

• October 18, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, American Airlines, AMS, Amsterdam, ancillary fees, Beond, Bermudair, carbon offsets, Delta Air Lines, economy class, elite status, Emirates, engines, frequent flier, frequent flyer, Haneda, HND, ITA Airlines, Italia Trasporto Aereo, Japan, jetblue, JFK Airport, KLM, loyalty, Mosaic, points, Portsmouth, premium cabin, promotions, PSM, Rapid Rewards, Rolls Royce, routes, slots, Southwest Airlines, Tokyo, TrueBlue, United Airlines

Can loyalty programs actually make changes that seem to make things better for customers, without taking benefits away elsewhere? Tune in to find out.

• Podcast

DLD 451: Hotter than fire

• September 28, 2023
• Tagged as: A350 XWB, Air Belgium, Air Peace, Akasa, Brightline, British Airways, CBP, China, Condor, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Airlines, economy class, Edelweiss, Haneda, Heathrow, HND, iAero, India, LHR, London, PDX, pilot shortage, podcast, Portland, Premium Economy, routes, slots, Tokyo, train, Trip Report

But at least there was no meltdown this week…

• Podcast
• Trip Reports

DLD 450: Wait, there’s now lounge elite status??

• September 21, 2023
• Tagged as: 737 MAX, 737 MAX 8, 757-200, A350, Allegiant, American Express, Boeing, co-brand, cobrand, credit card, credit cards, Delta Air Lines, elite status, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, lounge, lounges, medallion, merger, Mexico, Mexico City, New York City, podcast, premium cabin, Premium Economy, seating, seats, Sky Club, SkyMiles, slots, Spirit Airlines, Swiss, Trip Report, United Airlines, Upgrade, Vietnam Airlines

Delta made waves with its SkyMiles/SkyClub rules changes last week. Plus, new seats, new routes, and an end to revenge.

• Podcast

DLD 445: Ghosts in the sky

• August 17, 2023
• Tagged as: 767, Air India, Air Peace, Antigua, Australia, China, Department of Transportation, DOH, Doha, DOT, Frontier, Mexicana, Mexico, NTSB, Qatar Airways, routes, slots

Empty flights typically suck, but sometime airlines still fly them and make money doing so.

• Podcast

DLD 439: But was it really a melt down??

• July 6, 2023
• Tagged as: 777 Partners, A380, Billy Bishop, Delta Air Lines, Flair, Global Airlines, Haneda, LaGuardia, LGA, preclearance, routes, slots, Toronto, transcon, TSA, United Airlines, YTZ

United’s operations are mostly back to normal at this point, but it took a while to get there. Fortunately, there were plenty of other things to keep us entertained while watching that mess unfold.

• Podcast

DLD 437: The Bourget

• June 22, 2023
• Tagged as: A320neo, Aerolineas Argentinas, Air Canada, Airbus, Buenos Aires, China, economy class, IndiGo, jetblue, livery, Paris Air Show, PAS23, Philippines Airlines, podcast, Premium Economy, Rocketmiles, routes, slots, Southwest Airlines, Trip Report, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines

Summer in Paris, perhaps a delightful experience. A week at Le Bourget, however, is far less appealing for us. But there’s a bit of news worth discussing.